Daephene's New Save

That intro was longer than I intended! Now for a little world building. 

Centuries ago, in a mysterious event that has since faded into myth, sims from a wide variety of places on earth found themselves transported to a small continent none of them had seen before.  They could find no way to return to their homes, so they set about making new lives in this place they named SimNation. They built themselves towns and cities that resembled the homes they remembered. For some reason there were more American sims than any other nationality, which is why there are places that resemble several different American cities now, while sims from multiple cultures of Europe, Asia, and South America joined together to create places that resembled more than one Earthly source. 

The affected sims never did find out where they were or how they got there, and after multiple generations no one really believes in the fabled Earth anymore.  For modern sims, SimNation is their home. It consists of the small continent with a large inland sea in the middle next to a mountain range, a second landmass to the south that is much more sparsely populated and is home to Selvadorada, a chain of islands off the west coast that is known as Sulani, and a much colder chain of islands off the northeast coast that is home to Mt. Komorebi. As the sim population redeveloped technology such as high speed rail, the city of San Myshuno on the shore of the inland sea became a central hub for all of the small continent. There are 10 rail lines linking San Myshuno to the coastal settlements, with inland towns and cities clustered along them. All of the other worlds are included, except for Granite Falls which is up in the more remote areas of the mountains, and they all have easy access to Sany Myshuno, its suburb Newcrest, and the nearby town of Copperdale which boasts the prestigious Copperdale High School that just about everyone sends their teens to. 

In the next post I will begin to detail all the changes I have been making to the worlds as I set up this save.

I will go through the worlds I've redone one by one. Under each I will list the names and creators of the lots I downloaded from the gallery and  also any changes I made to them so if you see something you like when I start posting gameplay pictures you can look them up. And also because the creators deserve credit.

CORE WORLDS: San Myshuno, Newcrest, Copperdale, Britechester

San Myshuno, as previously mentioned, is the central hub of the high speed rail network. Located between the inland sea and the mountains, it offers a little bit of everything, including a bustling city with four distinct quarters. 

In the spice quarter we have a fancy multi-ethnic restaurant and a community garden space. In the fashion quarter we have a thrift tea shop and a wedding venue. In the arts quarter we have an art center and a lounge that focuses on the performing arts. In uptown there is a fancy karaoke lounge and a luxury spa on the rooftop. Myshuno Meadows park has been updated to include equipment for toddlers, infants and dogs. I also added a small cemetery area in the corner of the park along with space for a funeral. 

• La'Sal Restaurante by Claudette90gm I edited the menu from the original Italian restaurant but kept the build the same
• Pending/Perennial/Productive/Professional Project by AnikaBuilds  These are the four versions of the community space
• Honey Pop Vintage by Mollyanne21
• Stargazer Wedding Venue by kmadelin10  I'm trying to get it to work on the penthouse lot in the fashion quarter not Stargazer
• Galeria Casbah I seem to have not recorded the creator name
• Fountainview Lounge & Club by Saxona1991  I changed out the skating rink for a dance area to focus more on performing
• Planet Llama Karaoke by quiescence90
• Stargazer Spa by KemTolecX
• Myshuno Meadows by Tigerlady-1986  I replaced the wedding area with a cemetery & funeral space

Newcrest is a busy suburb of San Myshuno, full of things to do and see while in the city for a day. 

The lefthand neighborhood is the family fun zone, with an indoor pool (because Newcrest weather is awful), a movie theater (lounge), a large rec center, a science museum, and a space themed restaurant. The top neighborhood is more for couples and ceremonies, and has the courthouse with a wedding arch inside, a small cemetery and church, a romantic park area, a cafe and a bar. On the right we have a retail lot photo studio, an art center focused on an outdoor sculpture park, a healthy food restaurant, a climbing gym and a spa with onsen.

• Au Bord de la Riviera Isla by Gogwen (pool)
• movie theater by 4mqkd09y8elx based on original by Depster95
• Recreation Center by hornetbe  I made several changes on this one to suit my play style
• Science Museum by Koslosi  I simplified this one in places because it was such a detail heavy lot, and edited the biology section to add frogs and bugs. I also added some of the homework projects to make it more interactive for kids
• Space Burger by Torissa_Schaffer based on original by Markeyisha  I changed the menu to fast food and ice cream but kept the space themed decor
• City Courthouse by StoryBookGirl94  I placed a wedding arch in the hallway with the public service desks for real courthouse weddings. 
• Graveyard church by smellybune
• Romantic Park by vjce
• Garden Cafe by BabeeBurt
• Newcrest Sports Bar by CashWillow
• film and photo studio by de301d5da8e5ab05 I will probably make adjustments to this for the type of portraits I want
• Don Kultury Czerni biel by zuzia88888888  I altered the inside a bit 
• SolCaf by silrosse  I changed the menu to salads and health foods but will leave the building as is
• Climbing gym by x-ROVA-x
• OnZen Spa and Onsen by Plumbob_PandA15

Copperdale is a smaller town tucked away just into the mountains, but still close enough to San Myshuno that teens from all over mainland SimNation can attend high school there. 

I left the original ThriftTea and library for now, and started turning the Prescott house into a museum myself. I added a teen themed rec center to that neighborhood and left just the one house. Out by the pier we have a cafe with an arcade, a park turned outdoor movie theater/teen hang out that I turned into a community space so it has the option to be changed later, a bowling alley (bar), an upgraded park, and a kinda creepy cemetery that I imagine teens will be daring each other to visit. The high school and auditorium lots have also been replaced with fancier versions from the gallery. 

• Copperdale HS by taynasugui  I did simplify the decor in places and edited a couple of the non-functional classrooms so there's a shop class and I'm working on a theater room. I had to take the white board out of the science lab room so the teachers would use the two classrooms with desks.
• Auditorium by Luzy_Lou_77 for the dance and career day versions, and StevePhD's edits of her lot for the graduation and generic versions   
• Ultimate Club Hangout (rec center) by Mercury1639
• The Hangout (cafe) by gnd968
• Its Ours Now Theater (park on gallery, community space in my game) by SpiderTries
• Disco Bowling (bar) by RMugsy  I put a climbing wall in the tower section for active teens
• Copperdale Park by LittleMiss4
• Haunted Church by Cevenai

Britechester is not a central location, as it is north of San Myshuno along the Brindleton Bay rail line. But it is home to the only two universities in SimNation, so it is a temporary home to sims from all over. I haven't made any changes to it yet but will update this spac when I do.

INHABITED WORLDS: Tomarang, Henford-on-Bagley, Chestnut Ridge, San  Sequoia

Tomarang is the southernmost city on mainland SimNation, with only Selvadorada further south. It has its own rail line, at least until another warm Asian inspired world comes out in some future pack. It is home to the Bheeda family, who live in the residential rental in the upper neighborhood.

I put a community marketplace in the lot closest to the night market, for shopping during the day. And a pool by the section of ocean they can't swim in. I also downloaded an upgrade to the national park lot. The lower neighborhood has a vacation rental for families visiting from the north, a rec center and a karaoke bar. I have left one lot empty for the Bheedas to move into eventually. I am unsure what I am going to do with the other residential rental so I left it for now.

• I failed to write down the info on the residential rental they live in so this is a placeholder to edit later
• Tomarang Swimming Pool by Fennel1610  I did edit this one by replacing some of the ladscaping rock with the fountain rocks from Riviera Retreat and also removed some of the decor to expand the play area outside the pool.
• Street Market by GraziBarreto  I believe there is only the marketplace version. I installed it as both the marketplace and generic options. 
• ZoSul Taman Botani by andjrus (national park)
• Recreation Center by littleMoonkitten
• The Squawking Sarimanok by isleroux (karaoke)
• I need to check back on where I got the vacation rental also

Henford-on-Bagley is a pretty town located along the Innisgreen rail line, which travels almost straight east from San Myshuno. It is home to the Campbell family, who live in the bottom-most house on the map.

I have left the Scott household and their bar for now. I added a little restaurant in a cottage that serves the British food options that came with Cottage Living. In the upper area I put in an upgrade to the park/national park lot. There is a vacation rental closest to town, the village church up above which is set up for weddings, and the new graveyard up top. That little one close to town just got too full. I have left the middle area for the Campbells to upgrade into as they get more into farming, with just the one community garden lot to provide a base from which to visit that neighborhood. It will also give the Campbells more planting space until they can afford to move out of town. Once they do move, I plan on turning their current house into a vacation rental, but I haven't decided what I will then do with the current rental house.

• Cozy Cottage Restaurant by EmilyBlueJaye
• An Der Kleinen Muhle by Timelord300
• Wedding Venue Church by melnine34
• Cemetery by milopie1  I did edit this slightly, mostly changing the base color of the masonry.
• Henford Community Garden by fatblobface  I believe this only has the garden version, I downloaded it for the generic also
• BG+ Cottage Living is the name of their house but I forgot to write down the creator

Chestnut Ridge is located in the mountainous desert southwest of San Myshuno, on the Del Sol Valley line. It is home to the Dragan family, who live in the green-roofed house in the middle neighborhood.

I left the vacation rental up on the ridge, and added a country-style wedding venue. I also downloaded a nice national park lot that gives my sims a good base for horseback rides in that section of the map. In the center of town I left the bar and nightclub and park as is for now, since I haven't had time to check out the originals yet. I added a small western church with cemetery, and the house where the Dragans live. In the lower neighborhood I left most of the lots empty for the Dragans to move into as they need more space. I put in the Roasted Chestnut cafe as a base for horseback rides in that area.

• Ye Olde Stable Wedding by Reeraa99
• Palomino National Park by beshechtaded
• Old Western Chapel by rivercute  It was created for a different sized lot so I cut off the original cemetery part and created by own to the side. The building is the original creator's.
• Roasted Chestnut Cafe by zographos
• Their house is Rustic Residence by cxydyn

San Sequoia is a coastal city located on the drier and warmer side of the mountains, but far enough north and at the coast to have a more temperate climate. The desert town of Oasis Springs is located along the San Sequoia rail line, much further inland. San Sequoia is home to the Elderberry family, who live in the little house by the pier.

I have made the left section into an entertainment area. The house at the top has been turned into a vacation rental. There is a vegetarian restaurant, a nightclub, and a cafe with an arcade, bowling alley and skating rink. On the other side of the highway is a more educational and active part of town. It has an upgraded rec center, a museum, a library and a gym. The area down below is mostly residential right now, but there is a small cemetery.  I left the other lots empty for the Elderberry family to grow into over time.

• Utopia Vegetarian Bistro by gingerrrninjerr
• Rock N' Rainbows- BLK by dualApocalypse, original by Lujjere
• Harbor Bay Fun Center by msnorrington  I replaced the cinema on the top floor with a skating rink since it is so near the rabbithole theater
• Celebration Center Remake by Ana-Antonio-2000, original by TremaryArt  I am pretty sure I made some edits as I seem to have different needs for my rec centers than most creators. I can't remember what though.
• Art & History Museum by MindControl908
• The Book Library - Paogae by paogae
• Work it Out Gym by Mandykay77
• Hopewell Hills Cemetery by flauschtrud
• I did not record the details on their house but I am pretty sure it's a starter home I downloaded

VACATION WORLDS: Granite Falls and Selvadorada. Also Mt. Komorebi and Tartosa for now.

I have started setting up some of the uninhabited worlds as vacation destinations, in addition to the vacation-only worlds. I have set them each up with one romantic couple's vacation rental and one family vacation rental, and several forms of entertainment. In the vacation-only worlds, I have one or more additional rentals. In the inhabitable worlds I have left at least a few lots empty in case I have sims move there in the future.

Granite Falls is located in the mountains, several miles north of San Myshuno and not near any major rail line. It is a great spot to embrace nature and leisure.

I downloaded an upgrade to the national park, as well as the campsite lot. I also included a pool designed to look natural, and an onsen. No reason the area can't have hot springs, right? 

• Granite Falls Forest by simsginger (national park)
• Fun Filled Campground by efdunham09
• Simly Lake Update by Sleepyjeane
• Granite Springs by DragonAcolyteXX
• Honeymoon Cabin by Leah0290
• Log Cabin Retreat by Keirchon

Selvadorada is located on the landmass south of mainland SimNation. It is accessible by air or by sea.

I have replaced the cantina lot with a restaurant, and upgraded the museum and trailhead lots. The romantic and family vacation rentals are near the cantina and museum, while more general group accommodations are closer to the trailhead.

• Selvadorada Resto and Bar by chryscorleone, original by CatSaar
• Museo Arquelogia Alam by JenSimmer
• Belomisia Trailhead by moonlightowl-es
• Jungle Honeymoon by faecreature_sims
• Selvadorada Jungle Villa by szymonm_1
• Jungle Bungalow by JenXsims
• Belomisia Field Camp by dragonqueenmc

Mt. Komorebi is on an island located off the northeast coast of mainland SimNation. It is accessible by air or sea.

I replaced both vacation rentals, the onsen and the park with new versions of the same lot type. I added a national park on the big lot that has ice skating rinks so more winter sports are included. I replaced the original bar and downloaded a new one on a smaller lot. I added a gym with rock climbing machines, a karaoke bar, and a wedding venue that I might replace if having the two temples so close together starts to bother me more. I have not done anything with the lower neighborhood as I expect to have sims living there someday.

• Honeymoon Bliss by EnglishroseTJ (vacation rental)
• Mt Komorebi Vacation by MissLoun
• Onsen Shiroyame by serein_mirae, original by karensze_13
• Hanamigawa Japanese Park by EternalvitaeSims
• Ryokans of Kiyomatsu by mmarb (national park)
• Izayaka Bar by malee_zonia
• Wakaba Dojo (Gym) by SushiMarilyn
• Retsuko Karaoke by scarlettenra
• Hanamigawa Temple by Thotho16 (wedding venue)

Tartosa is located at the end of the Tartosa rail line, past the Ravenwood stop, on the warmer and drier side of the landmass. It's known for it's wedding accommodations and a history of pirates.

I put a Greek-inspired romantic rental on the island, but apparently forgot to change the lot type before taking this picture. I turned one of the original houses into a family vacation rental. The nearby lot is a pirate themed water park with the pool lot type, which is the only community lot in Tartosa without a wedding arch. I found a museum based on Greek ruins, and a pretty beach wedding venue. I replaced the lounge with a nightclub as I have very few of those so far.

• Santorini Hideaway by SIMaginestudio (should be a vacation rental)
• Amazing Waterpark by simba4000 I did edit this one a bit to my personal tastes but retained the majority of the original
• Forum Tartosa by KerBax (museum)
• Tartosa Beach Wedding by KittyKate81
• Tartosa Nightclub by vinnylately

Meet the Bheedas!

Jesminder and Arun Bheeda, from City Living, are two premade sims I have never played with before. I used them to do the holiday and Blast from the Past events. And then I decided to put them in this new save. They have moved into a Residential Rental in Tomarang since I have never played with that world. I can't remember what they started with and what I have changed, so I will just describe them as they are.

Arun works in the Tech Guru career. He will choose the Start-up branch when he gets to choose. Jesminder decided to quit her job and become a stay-at-home mother to their daughter Rani. She plans to start a new career when Rani starts school. I gave them aspirations from For Rent - he has Discerning Dweller and she has Fount of Tomarani Knowledge.

To get this new save started, I played only the Bheeda family until Rani aged up to toddler, so she would be the same age as Tristan Dragan when I started my rotation. Here are some pictures of them playtesting my lots in Tomarang while Rani was an infant.

No, they weren't neglecting her, she was just doing tummy time on her own and I wanted them to not interupt. They look like better parents at the park.

And then some pictures of infant Rani.

And finally she had her toddler birthday.

And instantly became fond of breaking the fourth wall.

The Bheedas showed up on a community lot in Ravenwood once I started breaking in my other families, so she and Tristan are now acquainted.

I'm going to start out doing my rotations in alphabetical order, so they'll start of my first official rotation next time I get in and play!

Meet the Campbells!

The Campbell family is one of two created in CAS, rather than using premade sims. They live in Henford-on-Bagley and will be focused on Cottage Living gameplay.

Melissa started out as a sim named Summer Robins by merpers0n. I can't make faces that I like so I looked for someone who could. I changed her hair color and style, her clothes and her traits, but kept her face and body type. I think she's very pretty. Melissa works in the Entertainer career, eventually to choose the Musician branch. She plays piano and pipe organ, though she has to go to the church to play the organ. 

Devin Campbell is another sim I downloaded and edited. He was a version of Sam Heughan from Outlande made by mebrown25. I gave him long blonde hair and glasses so he doesn't look so much like an actor anymore. I mostly wanted him to look Scottish. Devin is in the professor career. He's been getting into handiness lately, but also loves video games.

After making the changes and merging them into one household and setting them as spouses, I created their children by using the genetics option in CAS.

Meghan is their teenage daughter. She has been playtesting the Copperdale High School I downloaded from the gallery. I think she's adorable. She has been busy making friends and occasionally studying. She also joined the cheerleading squad.

Stirling is the middle child and heir. I used MCCC to make him one week older than his brother. He's into science and animals, and has begun trying to make friends with the fox who visits their lot. Right now he wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up, but we'll see.

Stuart is the youngest child. He is very into imaginative play and stories right now. He might want to be an artist or an astronaut or a king or a pirate when he grows up, depending what day you ask.

Meet the Dragans!

The Dragan family are the second family made in CAS for this save. They live in Chestnut Ridge and are focused on Horse Ranch gameplay.

Jesse Dragan was originally a sim by MigglesPlaysCozy. I forget what his name was. I changed his hair and gave him glasses. He's not going to keep the computer aspiration, but I haven't decided what he might do instead. He is a geek who loves the outdoors, so we might go with Outdoor Enthusiast. He works as a mechanical engineer.

Jess is an active and abitious sim who works as a Civic Planner. She has recently been learning to ride a horse. Her aspiration is Fabulously Wealthy, and if she achieves it they should be able to move to a nice big ranch lot eventually. She was created by Ghostking55gg and I don't think I changed anything but clothes and maybe traits.

Once I downloaded those two and combined them into one household and made them spouses, I used the genetics options in CAS to create their three children.

Derrick is a big horse lover, and has even been helping out with the horse associated chores without being asked. He has just started to learn to ride. He seems to be pretty active and outdoorsy in general. I used MCCC to make him two weeks older than his sister.

Lilah Dragan is a very social child. She likes playgrounds and meeting new friends. 

Tristan Dragan is a sweet toddler. It's too early to say what his interests are, but he adores all his family mambers. He has already developed the "loves books" quirk.

Storm is their stallion, and he's quite a character. He smiles a lot, and looks at me a lot. I will have to look up what his traits are as I have forgotten. 

Calendars and Aging

Just a quick description of my settings for the passage of time in this save.

I am using custom age durations via MCCC. Each week is approximately 2 years. It doesn't work quite right at the infant and toddler stages because I need a minimum of 6 days with an infant to get them to standing and try out all the foods. And while I want the older ages to correspond realistically to the younger ones, I don't want them to stretch on forever. So my sims spend one day as a newborn and 6 days as an infant, then they are suddenly two years old and a toddler. They remain a toddler for 2 weeks, though I can think of them as preschoolers for the second one, and then they are suddenly a child and 6 years old. The child stage is three weeks, from 6-12 years old, and the teen stage is three weeks, from 12-18. The YA stage is 11 weeks (kind of, see below about university), from the age of 18-40. The Adult stage is 13 weeks, covering age 40-64. Then they age up to elder and have a minimum of 8 weeks, taking them to 80. If I choose to give them a potion of youth at some point they can live into their 90s, and then their traits and chance determine if any make it over 100. 

My seasons are 28 days long. The moon cycles are 8 days long. For each rotation I play every household for one week, with only the active household aging. I think of it as me participating in 7 days out of the 2 years they actually live for each rotation, not necessarily consecutive. So for example if a couple gets married at the beginning of the week and has a baby at the end, I assume those didn't actually both happen in the same year unless the family story calls for it.

I will be doing things a little differently when I have students in university. What I plan to do is actually set the YA stage to 13 weeks, and play my university student households for two weeks in each rotation. That way they can do four terms of 3 classes each, and I will treat each week as one year out of their lives rather than two. They'll be YA for 11 rotations rather than 11 weeks, but it will still equal 22 years. Otherwise they just spend too much of their lives in college.

I switch households between 2 and 6 am on Wednesday mornings. I chose the middle of the week so when I get to university there will always be a weekend in every term for my sims to catch up on coursework and/or have some fun. I chose the time because very few careers have any shifts during those hours so it doesn't mess up their work or school attendance. It does mess up their sleep for a day but they tend to survive.

Each season has three holidays. The first is named for the season and corresponds to a real world holiday. Springfest is essentially Easter, Summerfest resembles the 4th of July, Autumnfest is Halloween, and Winterfest is Christmas (technically this is two holidays, Winterfest Eve with Father Winter, and Winterfest Day with gift exchanges and the grand meal). These each take place in the first week of the season. There is also a holiday in the last week of each season. I have kept the in-game logic of New Year's Eve being the last night of winter, though I called it NewYearFest. And Lovefest is at the end of spring, focused on romance. Summer ends with Grillfest weekend, in the spirit of Memorial and Labor day weekends. And the last Thursday in fall is Harvestfest (without the gnomes). Somewhere in between each season has a less traditional holiday. Fall has ArtsFest, focused on creative pursuits. Winter has LightFest. Rumor has it the holiday originated with festive lighting and bonfires to combat the dreary dark months, but gradually added the polar plunge and streaking to its traditions due to sims daring each other to spend their day off doing crazy things in the cold. Spring has RenewalFest, which is a time of spring cleaning, yardwork and gardening, and some self-improvement activities such as exercise. Summer has TravelFest, which is on both a Friday and a Monday to encourage sims to spend their long weekend vacationing, or at least visiting community lots. 

Meet the Elderberries!

My computer cannot currently do print screens so I am doing a different format for this intro. The Elderberry family came with Discover University, and the only things I really changed were moving them to San Sequoia and giving Rohan a teen aspiration.

Rohan Elderberry lives in San Sequoia with his grandparents, who pretty much let him do whatever he wants. Including eat cupcakes in their bed with his shoes on, apparently. 

Grandpa Ekram is a mean sim, who mostly likes to fish and watch tv and fix things. Retirement is making him even grouchier than usual, so he is likely to get a part time job as a handyman soon.

Grandma Eleanor is actually quite nice. Rohan isn't sure how these two opposites ended up together. Eleanor has started working as a freelance writer to pass the time in her retirement. She also loves to cook and see her family enjoy her cooking.

Unknown to Rohan, his grandparents also have some...other interests. Let's just say that between the two of them there are three bucket list items involving unusual woohoo situations.

Rohan himself is a pretty typical teen, pursuing the Goal Oriented aspiration. He is on the school football team, but his dream is to be a famous gaming streamer.

Week One with the Bheeda Family

Arun and Jesminder Bheeda left San Myshuno and moved to Tomarang for Arun's promotion. He's been working his way up the ladder as a programmer/tech guru. Jesminder opted to stay home with their daughter Rani for now. 

They like life in Tomarang well enough. The apartment they live in has some toddler friendly amenities.

Rani loves water, so the local pool has also been a popular spot, with a play area and a wading pool.

But after a while Jesminder started to get tired of being home all the time. Arun was equally tired of working all the time. So they took a little family vacation to Chestnut Ridge in the middle of winter.

Arun wanted to make sure Jesminder got a real vacation, so he took over some parenting duties while they were there. 

He tried to take over some of the cooking too, but Jesminder loves cooking so she wouldn't let him do all of it.

With the free time she had, Jesminder got to meet a horse, learn the cowpoke dance, and try some local nectar.

Maybe a little too much local nectar.

Meanwhile Arun enjoyed his bonding time with Rani.

But he did develop a "sitting withdrawel" moodlet from his sedentary lifestyle, due to all the activity. By the time the vacation was over, they were all ready to be home.

Once they got back, Jesminder started writing a journal about their travels. She found that she enjoyed the act of writing. Maybe when she returned to work once Rani started school she could put this new skill to good use.

Meanwhile she's going to have to keep an eye on Rani. The child is starting to get into everything!

Rani has the Picky Eater, Loves Water and Loves Wakeup Time toddler quirks. She ended the week having mastered the potty skill, and with all her other toddler skills at rank 4.

Arun has reached level 6 of the Tech Guru career. He has also made it to the second tier of the Discerning Dweller aspiration. Jesminder is not making as much aspiration progress, mostly because I deleted all the other premades so I don't know how to find a sim with the Child of the Village trait. I think I'm going to have to give it to Rani when she ages up.